During Wednesday’s White House briefing, Press Secretary Jay Carney debunked Sen. Dick Durbin‘s (D-IL) story that a House GOP leader told President Obama he “cannot even stand to look at” him during a recent government shutdown negotiation.

Durbin, the number-two Senate Democrat posted a note to his Facebook page this morning claiming that exchange occurred. New York Times reporter Jackie Calmes asked Carney on Wednesday, point-blank, “Can you say whether that happened?”

Carney flat-out denied the provocative remark ever happened: “I will say this, I spoke with somebody who was in that meeting and it did not happen,” he said.

“Did the White House speak to Senator Durbin about this?” the reporter pressed.

“I don’t know,” Carney replied. “My understanding is that, again, from participants in the meeting, that that didn’t happen.”